Hi there and thanks for stopping by on my blog.
My name is Monica and I’m a travelaholic.
I’m a 25 year old British lass with a love for travel and adventure. After uni I bought a backpack and a one-way ticket to Australia and had the most amazing 2 years of my life as I travelled through SE Asia and around Oz in a battered old campervan.
I’m now back in the UK and I’ve just completed my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. I had grand plans to be a travel journalist but I somehow got mixed up in this weird and wonderful world of travel blogging. I’m now the Social Media Specialist for the adventure brands at Flight Centre, and I write for travel websites and run this blog in my spare time.
So here is a little more about me and some answers to the questions I get asked:
How did I start blogging?
I was working for my local newspaper before I left to go travelling and they asked me to write a blog for the site while I was away. I had no idea what a blog was at the time but I went with it and imagined I would be a female Bill Bryson in no time at all. I blogged for the paper during my two years away and when I returned from my travels I realised that I wanted to take the blog a step further and The Travel Hack was born.
How is The Travel Hack different from the billions of other blogs out there?
There are so many great travel blogs out in the blogosphere but The Travel Hack is different because I’m learning. I’m learning to be a better traveller, I’m learning to blog, I’m learning to be a journalist, photographer, blogger and a travel writer and I’m sharing everything I learn along the way. I’m not claiming to be ‘the world’s best traveller’ (if there is such a thing) but I am dedicated to find out how I could be!
Every week I’ll be posting helpful hints and advice for other people in a similar position to me. The world of travel and travel blogging can be a scary and intimidating place and I’m hoping that others can learn from my mistakes and the little tips and tricks I pick up along the way.
So, where have you been?
- Hong Kong
- Thailand
- Cambodia
- Vietnam
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Indonesia
- Australia
- Tunisia
- Jamaica
- France
- Spain
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Morocco
- USA
- Canada
- Portugal
- Italy
- Copenhagen
- Russia
- Andorra
I’m hoping there will be many more trips to come and I’d love to spend a few months in India, learn to ski in New Zealand and travel around South America. They’re the big trips hopefully coming soon.
Enough of the boring stuff….tell us some fun stuff….
• I’m terrified of fish (serious phobia!) but I love to scuba dive. Weird I know.
• The gap between my big toe and my 2nd toe is so big I can’t wear flip flops. I tell people I had a 6th toe that was removed but that’s a big fat lie that most people seem to believe.
• I am addicted to Thai Red Curry and ate it almost every single day for a month while I was in Thailand. The hotter the better.
• Riding my bike is probably one of my favourite things in the world.
• I hardly ever watch TV. I actually don’t even know how the remote works.
- I’m a fitness fanatic and just signed up for the London triathlon.
If you’d like to see more, here are some photos of me doing weird and wonderful things around the world…
Running down sand dunes
Halong Bay in Vietnam
Everyone loves a giant walnut
Prior to the epic drive along the Nullabor, Australia
That’s why I’m not a gymnast
Climbing Mt Kinabalu (smiling through gritted teeth!)
The first fish I ever caught while living and working on Mackerel Island
Go Go Power Rangers! Excited before my first ever diving drip
Driving ‘The Green Machine’ around Oz
My wheels on Magnetic Island, Oz
Fave pic ever
Yes, that’s a Komodo Dragon behind me!
The Three Lakes in Flores, Indonesia
Diving the USAT Liberty shipwreck in Bali
Contemplating life with a view over Phi Phi
Skydiving over Rainbow Beach, OzWhithaven BeachFull Moon party in ThailandDiving the USAT Liberty shipwreck in BaliThe Three Lakes in Flores, Indonesia
Full Moon party in Thailand
Whitehaven Beach